Lee, I am one of those serving overseas and I appreciate your game summaries .. lots of great points again ... I see highlights on the internet and a few games through torrents downloads ... but a lot of great posts by everyone tonight, and my thanks to you all ... I said give Curry 2 more weeks . but .. when you think about it... if Curry cannot understand basic basketball principles now .. he may never .. Start AA and Stuckey .. out with the old, in with the new .. Screw small ball... Play Brown, Amir, JMAX much more... .. Fire Curry, Hire Laimbeer .. Go Pistons

The above was posted by Grizz over at the old place. This is why I write the game reports. Once upon a time, I liked writing them. Now a days, I do it for them.

Not saying it isn't a problem, but is he actually fouling anybody out there? Even on the play you mention, I'm not sure their jerseys even made contact. He needs discipline + respek.

On a pounds per second per second basis, he must have the lowest fouling force in the NBA. Touch foul hell.

On the actual game, I don't think I can say much. I'm worn down. We have offensive players and we have defensive players and whichever ones we play, we get a close game. If we want to give up 80 points, then we'll score 80. If we want to score 110, then we'll give up 110. It might be the personel.

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Tons of contact was not called. Even the very play Amir got called on was repeated later, with a whole lot of contact, and no call. Absolutely a double standard being used.

Now way in hell that would happen. It is hard enough to get one of Rip/Stuckey to go to the bench. To get Rip, Tay, and Stuckey off the bench would be impossible to do. Their is not even a .000001% chance that would happen. It will not happen at all no matter what. 0% chance.

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Whatever. Note, I gave a suggestion within possibilities in this same thread. Read the whole thread. Thanks in advance.

hmmmm...Amir at SF...? He fouls in d paint just by putting his arms up. Do you think he'd fare better defending the perimeter?

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So far, the majority of his foul problems have been from getting no respect as he tries to guard bigger centers / power forwards. Anything to get Tay coming off the bench, thus reducing his minutes, can't hurt. Tay is way overplayed.

With any luck, Amir could bite on a pump fake, fall on Richard Jefferson (or some other SF) and we could win the game because the other team was short handed.

Sorta like the guy who falls on a grenade to save the company.

Amir is very quickly becoming a big joke with his foul every 3 or 4 minute performances. Tonight, he bit on a pump fake from 5'2" smurf TJ Ford, who couldn't shoot over an arms extended Amir Johnson with a step stool.

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He did not bite on it that hard. He twisted away from the play, but a totally minimal amount of contact, all created by Ford, was still called. Much more contact, on the same play, was not called later. (Rip)

Where was the Piston who was guarding TJ Ford in the first place? Is it better to leave your feet or leave your man?

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Guys end up guarding different players on switches and rotations all of the time. The reality is that more than half of Amir's fouls are falling for pump fakes and dumb over-the-back calls when he has no prayer of getting the rebound. If he doesn't learn to play more disciplined, he will be back to a life of "DNP-CD".

no i mean he literally leaped up in the air like he was gonna try and block Manute Bol, where a smart player wouldn't leave his feet to block a shot from a guy 10 inches shorter, when he's right in front of you.

It's remedial basketball knowledge that he just effs up. It' not the NBA picking on a young player. It's a young player incapable of adapting to the NBA refs, even after 3 fulls years of "learning." Players like Amir are a dime a dozen, (Stro, Tyrus Thomas who is at least starting to learn, etc.) so why should Amir be treated like a special case? He's not going to catch on. He can hustle down the court, grab offensive boards and make put-backs, but anything else seems like it would be a bonus.

so why should Amir be treated like a special case? He's not going to catch on. He can hustle down the court, grab offensive boards and make put-backs, but anything else seems like it would be a bonus.

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Because he has the highest +/- on the team and the coach says that he doesn't just want him on the floor, but that the team needs him on the floor.

Does any team need Thomas or Swift on the floor?

Guys end up guarding different players on switches and rotations all of the time.

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Not all of the time. Every once in a while, the primary defender stays with that player.

Notice how many of Amir's fouls are on guards.

It would be really, really be nice if Amir was able to help on these guys without fouling, but he's not able to do it yet. But you have to realize that he's at least in position to guard these guys when they'd be getting to the rim otherwise. That means that if he eventually adapts and wises up (especially with the pump fakes), then we will have a very effective defender. Right now he is 21 years old. So in a salary cap relief setup year like this, you may as well let him make some mistakes.

It's a young player incapable of adapting to the NBA refs, even after 3 fulls years of "learning."

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I agree that Amir makes silly fouls that could be avoided but to be able to adept, you need to have regular and consistent playing time, which he never has. I would like to see him play 20 min per game for half a season and then see if there is any progress. If not then he has had his chance.

I agree that Amir makes silly fouls that could be avoided but to be able to adept, you need to have regular and consistent playing time, which he never has. I would like to see him play 20 min per game for half a season and then see if there is any progress. If not then he has had his chance.

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Unfortunately with his fouling it will take him half a year to play 20 minutes.

I thought Sheed kind of mucked things up there in the 4th quarter. Looked like we had the game under control until he came in and starting jacking up shots. Things about the vets is the other guys do defer to them when they are in.

Another game that we should have won. Lost 4 of the last 5.

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We aint winning the ship this year or next, so trade Sheed and Rip NOW and see what we can get to develop the Stuckey/Afflalo era. I told yall last year that Stuck is the next Dwade and he needs a willing deferrer like AA to run with and who will play as equally as hard.

Im sure The Hornets, Magic et al, would like some xtra malcontented firepower.

I know bball...and I know Im just watching a good team that will go out of playoffs by round 2.

Someone is debating over at the old board if we would have given up so many points in the first quarter if we were not using small ball. Here is the answer I posted.

About first quarter points. Small ball does not work. Going too big does not work.(Starting Kwame and Sheed together.)

Now, someone asked the question, just how good were those 1st quarters with "right sized" rotations?

Well, we have started 15 games with Amir at power forward, and otherwise, each position being manned by someone in their natural position.

Here is how many points we gave up in those 15 first quarters:

17
21
14
23
14
17
31
21
19
18
18
22
20
25
32

The 31 was against Sacramento, a game we still won. The 32 was against Utah, where really, we should have went bigger to start the game. In any case, that is a pretty darn stellar performance.

So, could someone claim we would not have given up 30 points in the first quarter if we had not used small ball. Well, at least, if you used a "right sized" starting unit, you can say the odds of a team scoring 30 on us is mighty darn slim.